Sports

Girlfriend denies Baylor’s LaceDarius Dunn hit her

Waco, Texas  The girlfriend of Baylor standout LaceDarius Dunn denied Wednesday that he broke her jaw and said she wants authorities to drop an aggravated-assault charge against him for what she called an accident.

Lacharlesla Edwards, 21, also pleaded with Baylor coach Scott Drew to reinstate the Bears’ leading scorer to the roster.

“He has never struck me during our long-term relationship,” she said in a statement issued through her attorney, Jason Darling.

Waco police have said officers were called to Hillcrest Hospital on Sept. 27 to investigate an assault on Edwards after Dunn punched her in the face during an argument. Authorities said her jaw was broken.

Baylor suspended Dunn indefinitely on Tuesday after the charge was filed against the senior guard.

Edwards, the mother of Dunn’s 3-year-old son, said she wanted to set the record straight.

“What happened on the night of Sept. 27 was an accident, and I went to the hospital for precautionary reasons,” she said. “I never expressed any interest in pressing charges, nor will I in the future press charges on this incident.”

She denied reports that her jaw was broken.

“I am fine and my jaw is not broken as is being reported. My family and I wish to put this situation behind us. Lace and I will continue our relationship and raising our son in a good environment,” she said. “I respectfully request that the District Attorney’s Office dismiss these charges and further request that Baylor University lift their suspension.”

Messages left Wednesday with the McLennan County District Attorney’s Office and Waco police were not returned. Baylor had no comment beyond its Tuesday statement that university officials were “working to gather all of the facts surrounding this incident.”

Dunn was a second-team All-Big 12 pick while averaging 19.6 points and 4.8 rebounds last season when Baylor set a school record with 28 victories and got within one win of making its first NCAA Final Four appearance in 60 years. He needs 451 points to surpass Terry Teagle as Baylor’s career scoring leader, and 518 to pass Texas Tech’s Andre Emmett for the Big 12 record.